


Into the Fire

by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, IncendiaGlacies



Series: Legends of S.H.I.E.L.D [13]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. AU, Amputation, Blood and Injury, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 15:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17604263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/pseuds/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: Rene Ramirez was last seen running across a bridge before it exploded. SHIELD was lead to believe he died there.That was a lie.





	Into the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to write something about Rene before we bring him back again. That scene at the end of the Magical Place always gave me chills because it was such a turning point for Mike Peterson. So I thought that I'd do something for after Missing and before the next episode (which I'm so excited to bring to life!)
> 
> I'd say enjoy, but it's not a fun one.

               He had only been trying to get Zoe back. At the time, turning over Agent Rider had seemed like a reasonable thing to do in order to get his daughter back. But as the exchange happened, Rene Ramirez realized how big of a mistake he was making. To save his daughter, he was handing over a woman with a whole team who loved her over to an organization that wanted something from her. How would Zoe look at him knowing he did this to save her?

Rene tried to even the score to get both Zoe and Rider away from the exchange. He threatened Valentina’s life, but it changed nothing except for putting Zoe in greater danger. Then Agent Rider had put an end to it by giving herself up.

“Don’t think of it as betrayal,” she’d told him when he was struggling to leave her there. “Zoe was in danger and you did what any parent would. I don’t blame you for your actions.”

So she had agreed to go with Valentina and Mirakuru in order for Zoe to be released, and Rene had gotten to leave with his daughter.

               The walk back to the other agents seemed longer than it had to get the meeting point. Even when he started running, it felt like he was going at a snail’s pace. After everything that Gideon Rider and Zee and the rest of SHIELD had done for him, he couldn’t leave things like this. He’d lied to everyone about the exchange and even after coming clean to her, still went through with it. If Mirakuru wanted Rider, then it was for nothing good. It had to be stopped at all costs.

By the time he made it back to Zee, Rene made his mind up.

He made a promise to Zoe and Zee and the others there that he was going to make things right. He begged them to keep his daughter safe before running back to the middle of the bridge.

               The closer Rene got, the more he could see ahead of them. Valentina and the soldiers were dragging Gideon into a helicopter. She was still unconscious, body limp in the hands of the soldiers. The car they had arrived in with Zoe didn’t seem to have anyone inside it. Rene didn’t have enough time to process how odd that was to leave a car behind that could be used as evidence. His mind was too focused on making things right and getting Gideon back to her team.

Valentina suddenly looked up at him. A wicked smile slipped into place before she pulled out a slim remote and pressed a button.

The first explosion went off while Rene was still running, but his world went black when at the start of a fourth.

* * *

 

“-exactly where I wanted to be, hauling a crispy corpse outta here.”

“Have some respect for the dead.”

“Why? He was never one of us.”

“…… hang on.”

“What?”

“I think he’s still alive?”

“You’re kidding me! Look at him!”

“Shut up. I need to place a call. Make sure he doesn’t die in the meantime.”

* * *

 

               Time was inconsistent. There were only two more times when Rene was alert after hearing the conversation. Once, he saw bright white light. But in the second, pale green scrubs blurred around him. Rene wasn’t sure if he was dead or alive. He was pretty sure that he was supposed to be dead. But shouldn’t being dead hurt a whole lot less?

He needed some answers soon.

* * *

 

               Rene wasn’t sure how long it had been before he finally woke up. He started to open his eyes, but only one could open all the way up. The other was able to open enough to give him vision in both eyes so he could see the flickering ceiling light above him. Rene stayed like that for a minute, not sure if he was dead or alive. When sixty seconds passed, he tried to sit up. His body ached, especially his leg. Rene refused to let himself lie back down though.

               Sheets slipped off his chest once he was upright. Someone had taken the suit the scientists on Rider’s team had made for him and replaced it with a white hospital gown. His right leg felt really awful, but Rene was too focused on the state of his arms. The skin was burned, blistered, blackened, or a combination of all running from his hands all the way past his elbows. Meanwhile, the Mirakuru device on his arm glowed like lava on his scorched skin, still working to keep its serum inside him.

               Even thought the burns on his arms hurt, his right leg still hurt like hell. Rene looked to the end of the cot, but only his left foot was sticking out. He looked at the space where the right one was supposed to be, but there was nothing there. His gaze traveled slowly back down the sheet until he saw the sheets falling over a stump just above his right knee. Rene ripped the sheet off the rest of his body to discover that his left leg was just as burned as his arms.

His right leg was totally gone.

The memories of the bridge surged back. Considering all the fire that had been around him before he lost consciousness, Rene was just glad to be alive, even if he was down a leg. He’d heard about phantom pains from a buddy of his before he’d been discharged, but he never expected that he’d actually experience it. Looking at the bandaged, bloody stump of his leg confirmed that this was real and he was going to have to get used to it.

None of that explained where he was though. The flickering light and cinder block interior screamed more basement than hospital.

“Hello?” he called out, looking around. “Anyone out there?”

No response.

               Rene groaned as he shifted over to the side of his bed. Behind him was just more cinder block wall. Ahead of his was a door and a mirror. When he gazed into the latter, Rene shuddered at the sight of his face. The right side of his face was covered with horrible burns, one which wouldn’t let him open up his right eye completely. His scar from before was completely masked by what had happened to him. He’d really managed to dodge a bullet surviving that explosion, but this new look was going to take some getting used to.

Rene hoped that his daughter wouldn’t mind the burns.

               A beeping sounded inside his head. In the corner of his eye, a few small squares appeared. When he closed his good eye, there were still there when everything else was black. Rene remembered the eye technology he had seen in Oakland with the SHIELD team. It wasn’t easy to forget a man on the ground begging for his life before the kill switch was hit.

The blocks disappeared and were replaced with words.

_Good morning, Mr. Ramirez. Stand by for further instructions._

Rene felt his heart drop to his stomach as he shuddered. “No.”

He might have dodged a bullet surviving the explosion, but it had sent him straight to a hell.

And there was no way out.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews and Kudos are what we love most! And feel free to chat with us on tumblr @incendiaglacies or @agentmarymargaretskitz about this AU!
> 
> Keep your eyes out for the next installment in the series, The Academy.


End file.
